Officials plead for help in finding person who assassinated Charlie Kirk
on Utah college campus
[September 12, 2025]
By ERIC TUCKER, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, JESSE BEDAYN and
HANNAH SCHOENBAUM
OREM, Utah (AP) — A palm print. A shoe impression. And a high-powered
rifle found in a wooded area. Those are among the clues authorities laid
out as they pleaded for the public's help to find the person who
assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk before dropping from a
Utah university campus roof and vanishing.
The search continued early Friday, nearly two days later.
Federal investigators and state officials on Thursday released a series
of photos and a video of the person they believe is responsible. Kirk
was hit as he spoke to a crowd gathered in a courtyard at Utah Valley
University in Orem.
More than 7,000 leads and tips have poured in, officials said. But
authorities have yet to name a suspect or cite a motive in the killing,
the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States.
“We cannot do our job without the public’s help,” Gov. Spencer Cox said
during a Thursday evening news conference with FBI Director Kash Patel,
who did not speak.
The direct appeals for public support, including new and enhanced photos
of a person in a hat, sunglasses, a long-sleeve black shirt and a
backpack, appeared to signal law enforcement’s continued struggles. Two
people who were taken into custody shortly after the shooting were
determined not to be connected.
Other clues included a Mauser .30-caliber, bolt-action rifle found in a
towel in the woods. A spent cartridge was recovered from the chamber,
and three other rounds were loaded in the magazine, according to
information circulated among law enforcement and described to The
Associated Press. The weapon and ammunition were being analyzed by law
enforcement at a federal lab.
Officials are offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to an
arrest. Cox said he's prepared to seek the death penalty.
Grisly video shared online
The attack, carried out in broad daylight as Kirk spoke about social
issues, was captured on grisly videos that spread on social media.
The videos show Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who played
an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, speaking into a
handheld microphone when suddenly a shot rings out. Kirk reaches up with
his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned
spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.
The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd
because of a “college-age” appearance, fired a single shot from the
rooftop, according to authorities. Video released Thursday showed them
then walking through the grass and across the street, before
disappearing.
“I can tell you this was a targeted event,” said Robert Bohls, the top
FBI agent in Salt Lake City.
Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he
would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian
honor in the U.S. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, visited
with Kirk's family Thursday afternoon in Salt Lake City. Vance posted a
remembrance on X chronicling their friendship, dating back to initial
messages in 2017, through Vance’s Senate run and the 2024 election.
“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly
to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance wrote. “He didn’t
just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”
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People place lit candles below a photo of Charlie Kirk, the CEO and
co-founder of Turning Point USA who was shot and killed, at a vigil
in his memory, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (AP
Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Kirk’s casket was flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Phoenix,
where his nonprofit political youth organization, Turning Point USA,
is based. Trump told reporters he plans to attend Kirk's funeral.
Details have not been announced.
Kirk was taking questions about gun violence
Kirk was a conservative provocateur who became a powerful political
force among young Republicans and was a fixture on college campuses,
where he invited sometimes-vehement debate on social issues.
One such provocative exchange played out immediately before the
shooting as Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about
gun violence.
The debate hosted by Turning Point at the Sorensen Center on campus
was billed as the first stop on Kirk's “American Comeback Tour.”
The event generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition
calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing
received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement
last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its
“commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry and constructive
dialogue.”
Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit
was sparking controversy. He wrote, “What’s going on in Utah?”
Attendees barricaded themselves in classrooms
Some attendees who bolted after the gunshot rushed into two
classrooms full of students. They used tables to barricade the door
and to shield themselves in the corners. Someone grabbed an electric
pencil sharpener and wrapped the cord tightly around the door
handle, then tied the sharpener to a chair leg.
On campus Thursday, the canopy stamped with the slogan Kirk commonly
used at his events — “PROVE ME WRONG” — stood, disheveled.
Kathleen Murphy, a longtime resident who lives near the campus, said
she has been staying inside with her door locked.
“With the shooter not being caught yet, it was a worry,” Murphy
said.
Meanwhile, the shooting continued to draw swift bipartisan
condemnation as Democratic officials joined Trump and other
Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the attack, which unfolded
during a spike of political violence that has touched a range of
ideologies and representatives of both major political parties.
___
Tucker and Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press writers
Nicholas Riccardi in Denver; Michael Biesecker, Brian Slodysko,
Lindsay Whitehurst and Michelle L. Price in Washington; Ty O'Neil in
Orem, Utah; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and Meg Kinnard in Chapin,
South Carolina, contributed to this report.
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